MARK WARBURTON is happy to give his Rangers kids a chance to shine in the closing weeks of the campaign after handing Liam Burt his Ibrox bow.

The midfielder played the final eight minutes of the 2-0 win over Raith Rovers on Tuesday night as he replaced Andy Halliday and was given a warm reception from the home crowd.

Victory for the Gers moved them 14 points clear at the top of the Championship and they are now just five wins away from clinching the second tier crown.

Warburton has sent a number of his most promising young talents out on loan deals in recent months in a bid to give them first team experience and regular match action.

Striker Ryan Hardie scored on his Rovers debut at the weekend, while Jordan Thompson and Ross McCrorie have joined League One sides Airdrieonians and Ayr United respectively.

Burt is one of the most highly-rated prospects in the Auchenhowie youth ranks at present and boss Warburton will have no qualms about pitching him or his peers into action in the coming weeks.

“Young Liam Burt got on against Raith Rovers, he has been doing really well for the Under-17s and Under-20s," he told rangers.co.uk.

“Hopefully the message goes out that if you do well in the academy, you’ll get your chance.

“We had young Jack Thomson with us too who has just turned sixteen along with Scott Roberts who has impressed Kenny Miller with the Under-20s and he’s caught his eye time and time again, which is relayed back to us

“We trust Kenny’s judgement and also Craig (Mulholland) and his staff. It’s good for young players like Liam and Scott to be around us to see what we do, how we do it and that they have a role to play.

“They are not there to make up numbers, they are there to make contributions and are there to be act if called upon. I have no doubt that they are good enough to make the right impression.”